ARSON

NOTE: The governing law on Arson is P.D. No. 1613 (for Simple and Other
Acts of Arson, as well as all the accompanying special rules and clauses)
as well as Art. 320 of the RPC (for Destructive Arson). The two laws must
be read together. Destructive Arson was originally covered by Art. 320 of
the RPC, then P.D. No. 1613 repealed Art. 320. However, Art. 320 was
reinstated by P.D. No. 1744 and further amended by R.A. No. 7659. The text
of the law provided below includes the text of the provisions of law
governing Destructive Arson, to show how it evolved over time. Note that
R.A. No. 7659 is the most recent and prevailing law today on Destructive
Arson.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1613

AMENDING THE LAW ON ARSON

WHEREAS, findings of the police and intelligence agencies of the

government reveal that fires and other crimes involving destruction in
Metro Manila and other urban centers in the country are being perpetrated
by criminal syndicates, some of which have foreign connections;

WHEREAS, the current law on arson suffers from certain inadequacies that
impede the successful enforcement and prosecution of arsonists;

WHEREAS, it is imperative that the high incidence of fires and other

crimes involving destruction be prevented to protect the national economy
and preserve the social, economic and political stability of the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do
hereby order and decree as part of the law of the land, the following:

SECTION 1. Arson. — Any person who burns or sets fire to the

property of another shall be punished by Prision Mayor.
The same penalty shall be imposed when a person sets fire to his own
property under circumstances which expose to danger the life or property
of another.

(Original text)Revised Penal Code

Art. 320. Destructive Arson. — The penalty of reclusíon temporal in its

maximum period to [reclusíon perpetua] shall be imposed upon any
person who shall burn:

1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks

factory, ordnance storehouse, archives or general museum of the
government.
2. Any passenger train or motor vehicle in motion, or vessel out of
port.]
3. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or
explosive materials.
4. [Any theater, church, cockpit, or other building where meetings are
held, when occupied by a numerous assemblage.]

PD 1613 (repealing Art. 320)

SECTION 2. Destructive Arson. — The penalty of Reclusion Temporal

in its maximum period to Reclusion Perpetua shall be imposed if the
property burned is any of the following:

1. Any ammunition factory and other establishment where explosives,

inflammable or combustible materials are stored.

2. Any archive, museum, whether public or private, or any edifice

devoted to culture, education or social services. acd

3. Any church or place of worship or other building where people

usually assemble. aisa dc

4. Any train, airplane or any aircraft, vessel or watercraft, or

conveyance for transportation of persons or property.
5. Any building where evidence is kept for use in any legislative,
judicial, administrative or other official proceedings.

6. Any hospital, hotel, dormitory, lodging house, housing tenement,

shopping center, public or private market, theater or movie house or any
similar place or building.

7. Any building, whether used as a dwelling or not, situated in a

populated or congested area.

PD 1744 (reinstating Art. 320)

Article 320. Destructive Arson. — The penalty of reclusion temporal in its

maximum period to death shall be imposed upon any person who shall
burn:

1. One (1) or more buildings or edifices, consequent to one single act of

burning, or as result of simultaneous burnings, or committed on several or
different occasions.

2. Any building of public or private ownership, devoted to the use of

the public in general, or where people usually gather or congregate for a
definite purpose such as but not limited to official governmental function
or business, private transaction, commerce, trade worshop, meetings and
conferences, or merely incidental to a definite purpose such as but not
limited to hotels, motels, transient dwellings, public conveyance or stops or
terminals, regardless of whether the offender had knowledge that there are
persons in said building or edifice at the time it is set on fire, and regardless
also of whether the building is actually inhabited or not.

3. Any train or locomotive, ship or vessel, airship or airplane, devoted

to transportation or convenience, or public use, entertainment or leisure.
cd

4. Any building, factory, warehouse installation and any appurtenances

thereto, which are devoted to the service of public utilities.
5. Any building, the burning of which is for the purpose of concealing
or destroying evidence of another violation of law, or for the purpose of
concealing bankruptcy or defrauding creditors or to collect from insurance.

Irrespective of the application of the above enumerated qualifying

circumstances, the penalty of death shall likewise be imposed when the
arson is perpetrated or committed by two (2) or more persons or by a
group of persons, regardless of whether their purpose is merely to burn or
destroy the building or the edifice, or the burning merely constitutes an
overt act in the commission or another violation of law.

The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death shall

also be imposed upon any person who shall burn:

1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks

factory, ordnance storehouse, archives or general museum of the
government.
2. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or
explosive materials.

If as a consequence of the commission of any of the acts penalized under

this Article, death or injury results, or any valuable documents, equipment,
machineries, apparatus, or other valuable properties were burned or
destroyed, the mandatory penalty of death shall be imposed."

RA 7659 (further amending the reinstated Art. 320) – the prevailing law
today

Art. 320. Destructive Arson. — The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death

shall be imposed upon any person who shall burn:

1. One (1) or more buildings or edifices, consequent to one single act of

burning, or as a result of simultaneous burnings, committed on several or
different occasions.
2. Any building of public or private ownership, devoted to the public in
general or where people usually gather or congregate for a definite
purpose such as, but not limited to, official governmental function or
business, private transaction, commerce, trade, workshop, meetings and
conferences, or merely incidental to a definite purpose such as but not
limited to hotels, motels, transient dwellings, public conveyances or stops
or terminals, regardless of whether the offender had knowledge that there
are persons in said building or edifice at the time it is set on fire and
regardless also of whether the building is actually inhabited or not.
3. Any train or locomotive, ship or vessel, airship or airplane, devoted
to transportation or conveyance, or for public use, entertainment or leisure.
4. Any building, factory, warehouse installation and any appurtenances
thereto, which are devoted to the service of public utilities.
5. Any building the burning of which is for the purpose of concealing or
destroying evidence of another violation of law, or for the purpose of
concealing bankruptcy or defrauding creditors or to collect from insurance.

Irrespective of the application of the above enumerated qualifying

circumstances, the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall likewise be
imposed when the arson is perpetrated or committed by two (2) or more
persons or by a group of persons, regardless of whether their purpose is
merely to burn or destroy the building or the burning merely constitutes an
overt act in the commission or another violation of law.

The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall also be imposed upon any
person who shall burn:

1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks

factory, ordnance storehouse, archives or general museum of the
Government.

2. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or

explosive materials.

If as a consequence of the commission of any of the acts penalized under

this Article, death results, the mandatory penalty of death shall be
imposed.
SECTION 3. Other Cases of Arson. — The penalty of Reclusion
Temporal to Reclusion Perpetua shall be imposed if the property burned is
any of the following:

1. Any building used as offices of the government or any of its agencies;

2. Any inhabited house or dwelling;
3. Any industrial establishment, shipyard, oil well or mine shaft,
platform or tunnel;
4. Any plantation, farm, pastureland, growing crop, grain field,
orchard, bamboo grove or forest;
5. Any rice mill, sugar mill, cane mill or mill central; and
6. Any railway or bus station, airport, wharf or warehouse.

SECTION 4. Special Aggravating Circumstances in Arson. — The

penalty in any case of arson shall be imposed in its maximum period:

1. If committed with intent to gain;

2. If committed for the benefit of another;
3. If the offender is motivated by spite or hatred towards the owner or
occupant of the property burned;
4. If committed by a syndicate.

The offense is committed by a syndicate if it is planned or carried out by a

group of three (3) or more persons.

SECTION 5. Where Death Results from Arson. — If by reason of or on

the occasion of the arson death results, the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua to
death shall be imposed.

SECTION 6. Prima Facie Evidence of Arson. — Any of the following

circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of arson:

1. If the fire started simultaneously in more than one part of the

building or establishment.
2. If substantial amount of flammable substances or materials are stored
within the building not necessary in the business of the offender nor for
household use.
3. If gasoline, kerosene, petroleum or other flammable or combustible
substances or materials soaked therewith or containers thereof, or any
mechanical, electrical, chemical, or electronic contrivance designed to start
a fire, or ashes or traces of any of the foregoing are found in the ruins or
premises of the burned building or property.
4. If the building or property is insured for substantially more than its
actual value at the time of the issuance of the policy.
5. If during the lifetime of the corresponding fire insurance policy more
than two fires have occurred in the same or other premises owned or under
the control of the offender and/or insured.
6. If shortly before the fire, a substantial portion of the effects insured
and stored in a building or property had been withdrawn from the
premises except in the ordinary course of business.
7. If a demand for money or other valuable consideration was made
before the fire in exchange for the desistance of the offender or for the
safety of the person or property of the victim.

SECTION 7. Conspiracy to Commit Arson. — Conspiracy to commit

arson shall be punished by Prision Mayor in its minimum period.

SECTION 8. Confiscation of Object of Arson. — The building which is

the object of arson including the land on which it is situated shall be
confiscated and escheated to the State, unless the owner thereof can prove
that he has no participation in nor knowledge of such arson despite the
exercise of due diligence on his part.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — The provisions of Articles 320 to

326-B of the Revised Penal Code and all laws, executive orders, rules and
regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree
are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take effect immediately

upon publication thereof at least once in a newspaper of general
circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 7th day of March, in the year of Our Lord,
Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Nine.